'Revolution' Denied

I was surprised to read SBK Entertainment World's denial that it had refused the New Republic permission to reprint the lyrics to the Beatles' "Revolution" (Pop Eye, by Patrick Goldstein, May 10).

Before Jon Wiener's piece, "Beatles Buy-Out" (the New Republic, May 11), went to press, I spoke with David Wolfson, the manager of renewals and permissions at SBK in New York. In the phone call and then in a letter, Wolfson stated, "Upon reading this article, we feel that it is offensive, and we decline in granting you permission to use any of the lyrics from the above song."